Turkey Launches Rare Turkish Vs. Foreign Competition

Jun. 11, 2013 - 03:17PM
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ANKARA — In an extremely rare set-up for a defense contract here, Turkey’s procurement authorities have launched a competition involving two Turkish and two Western companies.

Turkey’s defense procurement agency, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM), said June 4 that four companies had acquired the request for proposals, which call for building mobile and fixed air navigation systems for the Turkish Air Force. The program is dubbed as TACAN.

The bidders are Turkey’s Onur Muhendislik and Gate Elektronik San. Ve Tic; Rantec Microwave Systems from the US and Italy’s Thales Italia SpA.

Turkish contracts in the last several years have come in the form of either “open to local manufacturers only” or as “co-production with local manufacturer as prime contractor.”

The government hopes to improve the capabilities of local industry to design and develop indigenous solutions, and to export defense equipment to foreign markets.

The TACAN program involves the direct (off-the-shelf) procurement of 10 fixed and four mobile tactical air navigation systems, their installation to air bases, assembly, verification with tests, acceptance and turn-key delivery.

TACAN is a navigation system used by military aircraft. It provides the user with bearing and distance to a ground or ship-borne station.

An SSM source said that the government would not require local industry participation if a foreign bidder won the contract, nor would any offset commitments be necessary.